Disclaimer: The Sevenfold Path of Multiverse is my original concept, which I have and will be using in my future works as well, and, as such, is subjected to copyright
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Chapter Begins:
Albus Dumbledore had learned the deepest secrets of magic and its various faces.
Yet, he was humble enough to admit that he didn't know everything. Still, to never even heard of the things mentioned by the Order shocked him.
The true nature of the Order of Immortal Lotus was a question he had asked himself countless times. Especially during the 1st Wizarding War when they had refused to help him defeat the dark wizards swiftly.
Not to mention, during the entire duration of his tutelage under Merlin the Sage, Albus had heard of a particular name only one time — Deep One!
When asked, Sage Merlin had refused to utter a single word more.
Not only that, but he had also offered to wipe or suppress Albus' memory related to the name.
Albus had already been old then. He had taken the hint and had never asked or brought the two words on his lips in fear of getting his memory wiped by the Order.
After leaving the Order, he had researched about it, but it had all been in vain.
It was then Albus had gotten an idea of the kinds of secrets the Order dealt with, and how terrifying those secrets could be.
So when he heard all these words, and them getting spoken so openly, Albus couldn't help but feel a chill running down his spine.
"Did Merlin ever tell you about the timelines?" the Green Seat asked. "He has a penchant for boasting on these topics…"
Albus was about to shake his head.
Suddenly, the old man within him shuddered.
The Sage does have a penchant for boasting on just about anything, Albus thought, his blue eyes not giving away the storm inside. What if Merlin said something he shouldn't have said, and then wiped my memories related to that? How would I ever know?
With Sage Merlin in hibernation, he couldn't confirm it, either.
"No," Albus said finally, not knowing where it was all heading towards.
The anger within him had yet to abate. He just couldn't let go of the fact that dozens of students suffered a fate worse than death, how his old friend sacrificed his life, and how hundreds of students had almost died… just to confirm doubts!
"What do you know, then?" Hermes asked, his Staff shining orange over his head.
"I only know what's publicly available to all," Albus replied fast, biting on the raging thoughts. "Maybe a touch more. I know of the most prominent theory, even among us wizards, there are different versions of us, scattered across infinite parallel timelines…"
"Hehehe…" Circe snickered. "Infinite... Tch!"
The Witch of Endor was humbler than her fellow female member of the Order, just shaking her head in reply to Albus' words. The Yellow Seat leaned back in his chair, crossing his hands. Hermes' face couldn't be seen because of the hood, but one could feel he was smiling.
The responsibility, once again, fell on the Violet Seat.
"Hear me, child," King Solomon said, his voice booming. "Hear me clearly…
"Infinity is a Perception."
…
For a moment, Albus couldn't find the right words to say in response.
But the King Solomon wasn't done with him. Not yet. Today, he had already decided to let the child know the truth. It was better to tell Albus in one go than let his mind wander with every pause he took between the sentences.
Just as he saw the child's eyes rolling back into his head, King Solomon smashed his fist on the table.
BOOM!
The ethereal fist had fallen with the power of a normal human being.
But the entire Mythical Island heard the sound, a boom reaching all corners of the Avalon.
Albus' eyes snapped back to their positions and he almost fell to his knees, his mind sprinting between whiteness and blackness.
For a moment there, he had felt like falling into a strange ocean, incomprehensible murmurs and whispers taking over his existence like the deafening silence at the bottom of a sea.
What… happened to me? An old voice within him wondered, feeling the pain in his joints.
"Remember the words," King Solomon warned, his voice soothing," but refrain yourself from comprehending the meaning behind them. Hermes…"
The Orange Seat straightened his back. He looked at Albus and said, "Worlds, such as ours, are called Random Worlds in the Multiverse. Random Worlds because… they literally come into existence randomly—like spontaneous thoughts.
"You can imagine these Random Worlds as bubbles, with a thin, but definite boundary about them.
"What we call Multiverse, is nothing but a group of all such bubbles that appear and disappear randomly."
The Green Seat took over where Hermes left, then.
"In the Multiverse, all existences are governed by the Sevenfold Path," the Witch of Endor told Albus. "It's a cosmic principle that dictates the flow of reality across all dimensions. The Random Worlds are a part of the Multiverse, with their own unique set of rules, yet all are bound by the Sevenfold Path.
"This path represents the cyclical nature of creation, existence, and destruction, with each stage echoing the divine number 7, a number traditionally associated with perfection, mysticism, and the universe's sacred geometry."
Everyone went quiet, then.
Suddenly, King Solomon looked up as if he had gotten permission to continue.
"Each Random World, or the Bubble, has the Seven Pillars of Reality serving as the bedrock of its existence," the Violet Seat said. "These Seven Pillars are the 7 Primary Timelines, representing different core realities that have diverged from a singular origin.
"Each Primary Timeline originates 7 Secondary Timelines, called the Seven Mirrors of Reality, where key decisions, events, or moments in history have branched off, creating varied outcomes and parallel realities.
"Each Secondary Timeline originates 7 Tertiary Timelines, called the Seven Keys of Reality, centered around pivotal events. These events are the crux of the timeline's development, each one unlocking a different potential future or outcome."
Albus felt overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the secrets getting revealed to him.
Unfortunately, this wasn't all the Order had promised to tell him. He had come to Avalon seeking answers. And answers he would get, even of the questions he dared not ask or of the questions he didn't have a memory of anymore.
"It is said that if one manages to master the Sevenfold Path," Hermes chimed in, "then one can become a Bubble Entity. Then nothing can prevent such an existence from prying deeper into the mysteries of Multiverse."
Circe and the Witch of Endor turned their heads to look at Hermes, who just shrugged his shoulders in response.
"Sigh!" King Solomon let out a breath, looking up. "Let it be."
Getting no further looks, Hermes continued, "Bubble Entities exist in a Random World together with the Primary Timelines. Moreover, THEY can seep into a timeline against the Timeline's Will, attaching THEIR existence to the Timeline, like parasites. In Multiverse, these Bubble Entities have a more popular name."
King Solomon looked at Albus Dumbledore and said, "The Deep Ones."
Albus just wanted to sit on the chair in front of him now.
The only thing that prevented him from doing so was the thought he just wasn't ready to leave the things as they were in the outside world.
Still, despite the shocking revelations, his astute mind had picked up a discrepancy in the Orange Seat's words.
"You talk of timelines as if they are alive," Albus said, looking at the Six, "then why…"
"Alive?!" Circe snapped. "Of course, they are alive. Then why do they let a parasite exist with them, right? Heh! Can't you think of a reason?"
Albus looked at the Red Seat and, somehow, he just knew the reason.
The Outer One!
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